Jen to the top

After a nice evening we fell asleep on our beds with the lights on and no alarm set. Both of us woke up shortly after though so we could organise ourselves for our early pick up at 4.30 by our land lords taxi friend. He was taking us to the Sarangkot, the highest viewpoint in Pokhara and a great spot to see the Annapurna mountain range. We went, it was pitch dark and when we got there it was still dark. We passed a lot of Indian tourists on the way as the buses can't go all the way. Our driver took us close and said he would wait an hour for us. The viewpoint was a big round cement circle and we sat down to wait for sunrise and for the clouds to break up.. More and more Indians started to crowd around us and demanded a seat, after a while I gave in to the comments and left my spot, feeling pretty p-d off with the arrogant attitude. One man was sitting meditating and he was the angriest, then we had a group of ladies singing which was pretty nice at this time of day. Lots of people

I thought we had seen it all but no, it seems like the cows, buffaloes, yaks or what ever you want to call them are everywhere! This morning in Pokhara, a touristic town 7h bus ride from Kathmandu, me and Babs had company to the centre by a cow..they always just turn up everywhere! I really love these animals so I don't mind, it's just really funny :) my niece Jennifer would just love this, I filmed a bit for her today :) We arrived here yesterday, Thursday 19th. We took a bus at 7am from Kathmandu and it was a very interesting bus ride. It feels like the drivers have their own rules and as everyone understands this chaos it works, they overtake in blind corners, they drive on partly non existing roads.. All so very strange. But we got here in the end and its so quiet. Compared to Kathmandu it's like a different country! The only thing that is the same is the hooping from taxis and the Everest beer :) There are so many tourists here, and the prices of a lot of things are hi

We started early from Namche as we had 19 km to do before completing the challenge by arriving back to Lukla.  I remember this part from before, it was hours on end uphill, so it must be a lot of down hill.. It was :) and after only an hour or so we arrived to one viewpoint of Everest! And yes, she showed herself to us! Happiness ! Then we walked on and on, crossed that mega high suspension bridge again and it was pretty unreal to look up the mountain and realise that we had walked all the way up there and a lot further and now were coming back down again.. Amazing and unbelievable! We also passed a collapsed suspension bridge, so we had to cross the river at a different spot, just so scary to see and think if it would have been daytime.. This one collapsed 2 weeks ago at 2am in the night. After passing a few villages on the way, meeting some horses in the middle of the trail, a huge number of cows and an ever bigger number of dogs and 11km later, we finally made it to Phakding, our lu

We didn't do Kala Pattar, it was snowing and a lot of mist.. Me and Babs were up at 4am and went to the dining room. There were three of us that got up from the warm sleeping bags and out in the cold (out in the cold meaning out of the sleeping bag!) we got hot water and hot chocolate to be able to feel our limbs again, even if we both planned well and slept in the clothes we were going to walk in (also the one pair of long johns and top we have). But as the weather was bad we went to bed again at 4.30 and had a good sleep until 6.50 when a helicopter came to land. It couldn't, so it tried again - outside our window! We packed and went out fro breakfast not really sure of the next steps - Tashi had an idea that we should wait a bit and see if it clears and we could try Kala Pattar again, but it never happened which we were pretty ok with at that point. Legs were hurting, coughs, head aches.. We just wanted to get down to the oxygen! We skipped it and started to descend. The tre

Woop woop! Today we made it to base camp, the goal of out trek! What a success!  It was hard, tear breaking, legs like jelly and a lot of head ache... But, main thing is that we made it! We walked through a landscape of big rocks and ice, and passed a glacier wall and some icy water. First in the morning we left around 7am and got to our lunch place in Gorak Shep around 10am. Gorak  Shep is the base camp from 1953, the first climb of mt Everest. It's also a cosy lodge but bed rooms are freezing cold! We reached base camp at 2pm local time after a struggle up and down the rocks. We also past a glacier and glacier water, it was pretty cool to see and walk past. The landscape is so bold and at the same time beautiful. Nothing green just rocks and ice. We can hear all different noises, stones falling from the mountains into the glacier water or just to the ground.  It was snowing and really cold, the last bit was down the mountain side and my chest was burning and the legs were like je

It's not the complete truth, but kinda. I got Diamox this morning along with paracetamol and that took away the buffalo dance and the heavy legs! Amazing how good it can be on this altitude :) Today we should have walked for 4 hours but as we had two ill girls it took a bit longer for us, 7h.. We had lunch at 3 pm and we weren't the happiest guys.. We walked through a very rough landscape, alpine, and it was up and down.. Just rocks and some very short greens. Some flowers also survive here but they are very small. I have got to know one of our Sherpas pretty well, Padam. He has been walking with me quite a bit as he is the last person and I like to be in the back- a bit quieter and I can walk in my own speed. My best friends are also normally at the back so it's perfect!  Padam is 22 years old and comes from Lukla. He is starting university in November where he will learn management and nutrition, so he can bring this knowledge back to the Himalayas. He is a very sweet you

Today we had a late start, meaning wake up call at 7am and breakfast at 7.30. Today we were going on a hike to acclimatise. This wasn't the easiest of them all, we went straight uphill for 2,5h! Lack of oxygen, heavy legs and buffaloes having a party in my head - no, it wasn't that pleasant.. It was so hard.. This is the first day I feel it really strongly, I had to focus on everything else than what I was doing but it's quite hard when I'm only capable of taking one step per breath.. Any bigger rock was just a mission. I so remember this from Kilimanjaro but that was on summit night..  We made it to 5000m but then the mist came and it got really cold so we went back down again. But we did it! The rest of the day we managed to find an Internet cafe and we also took a little nap. This hike this morning was hard.. Dingbouce is a small village up on 4410m and the people here are proper farmers. Everywhere we see people work on their fields with what ever vegetables or such

So we could finally depart to Lukla, the weather had changed and allowed us to fly in. I must admit that I was a bit nervous but it was too late to change my mind and I was also very excited about it.  We went in a Twin Otter, 14 seater. I knew that I would get the best views on the left side so I tried to get as far in front as possible so I also could film the landing. After around 15 mins I could see Mt Everest and the Himalayas. It was fantastic. I will upload pictures when I can, but so nice. It's so high! Wow!  We started to turn left and flew pretty low, and I knew that the landing was near as all planes come in from that angle. The pilots started to put up flaps or what ever they do, and prepared for landing. I could only see the mountain so I hoped there was a landing strip. Suddenly it appeared and then we landed. The plane stopped in seconds and we went out. On the runway there was already a group waiting to board and they were gone in a few minutes. When the clouds are

An early start on a glorious morning! We woke up at 6am, and I heard some cheering from next door and kind of understood that there was something outstanding outside. I opened the window and could see the sacred mountain in Khumba valley. This is why we are here! I got all excited and wanted to get out there! Bags packed and down we went, and I don't know how much energy the sun and the clear skies projected to us! Clearly a lot! But weather changes in Nepal like if you use a light switch - half hour later the mist was there and we couldn't see more than a few meters ahead. Off we went and after a few hours of Nepali flat, we descended to the river for lunch, where we could see the mountain we were going to hit .. I was pretty worried.. But with a positive mind :) We started, and I joined Team A, which consists of us a bit slower than the others :) it's me, Mike, Hannah (who has a chest infection, normally a Team B player) and Emma who isn't a very experienced  mountain

Today we started at 8am after a nice breakfast consisting of egg, porridge and pancake. We started with Nepali flat until we reached the highest suspension bridge.. And was it high.. The previous one had collapsed so we were lucky to be able to cross on the new one. The climb up was steep and fairly tough but I figure it is like this until I get used to the walking and the altitude. Attitude! I can and I will! The first hours it was raining but not bad, bit we all had our ponchos and rain jackets on.  From the bottom of the bridge we could see the top of the mountain and it was high and far away. After the very scary bridge we started to head uphill, and this was very hard for me. Luckily I got support from one Sherpa, Boan. He kept me company throughout the trek and I know it was because I was a bit weak. Finally after 4 hours we got to the beautiful Namche bazaar. I don't think that I have been happier ever to get somewhere :)  Entrance to Sagarmatha* national park (*Everest) Whe

Hey - Team A got a head start to Dingboche and we did a great job. It was first pretty much Nepali flat which turned into a steep hill. It was a pretty adventurous walk as we saw lots of different trees and flowers along the river we follow all the way. I feel so lucky to be able to be here and see this different vegetation and to enjoy this fantastic scenery that shifts from forest to rocks to moon landscape and back again. Today during the morning I felt like walking through a Swedish forest in the autumn, the leaves yellow on the ground, warm but chilly at the same time, fresh air that fills your lungs.. I just love that feeling. Fitness still ok but headache and muscle pain is clearly coming. Today we saw a few guys feeling it too, one has been puking the whole night, another has a chest infection.. But apart from that are we all fine, more or less. Dingboche is a village up on 4410m and is part of Khumbu Valley so we are still in the sacred valley. Tomorrow is acclimatisation day

The wind and rain wasn't on our side today, the clouds covered Lukla the whole morning so we couldn't land.. Frustration was growing in the group as we all thought this was it as we had clear blue skies in Kathmandu. Lukla was completely in clouds... But, tomorrow looks better, and it has already cleared up! We are getting up at 4 am tomorrow as we are on the first flight. Fingers crossed now guys!! We spent the day at the biggest temple in Asia and we prayed for better weather! Then we browsed through the city again, looking at the different sites.. I noticed today that I am getting used to having sand dust in my mouth.. Yes, it's pretty dusty..:) Tonight I have had a stress management session with my travel companion Mike (the other "golden oldie").. He thought it was a great idea to watch take offs and landings from Lukla.. I'm not sure.. But I really understand why they don't go when not sure..  We didn't watch the crashes.. But it's pretty imp

We got up at 5a,m this morning, ready to leave. Bags packed and weighed, all sorted. As the previous flights during the last couple of days have been cancelled due to the bad weather, we were waiting to hear if the first morning flight could leave. It did, so hopes were up,  Mike who yesterday morning was so tired he couldn't speak was jumping up and down today! So excited! We all shared his enthusiasm, and also the disappointment when we couldn't leave. I have looked at the runway at Lukla, and I am really glad they are so careful. Previously there was competition with a few airlines which ended up in less security and more business = more crashes.today there is only one company operating and they are very hard with security. The previous group has been stuck at Lukla for three days now, as no plane has been given the ok to fly in. I feel a lot safer knowing this.  Runway at Lukla From the other end..  Plane coming in for landing Swayambhunath ( the monkey temple) Instead, we

This morning we went out to a school which is one of the schools Childreach works with here in Nepal. The classes go from kindergarten to year 8. Childreach is helping them with their new building which the state started to build but never finished, and they help with some of the funding and labor. The new building is built next to the current school and when it's ready there will be space for kids up to year 10. So this is fantastic for the kids in the neighbourhood. The new rooms are also bigger so they will get more space.  We arrived and were met by curious children. Some were playing badminton and some were just looking at us carefully. We got our instructions and got to work. We sanded window frames and painted them. We also painted ceiling and walls, so we had quite a job to finish.  After some hours we had together done it all in two rooms, and we were very proud of the accomplishment!  Thanks all of you guys that sponsored this project, you have all made a difference. And

So, we have finally reached Kathmandu! A vibrant, muddy, unpredictable city surrounded by mountains. We have had authentic Nepalese and Indian food, fantastic flavours and smells. One of my companions described the city narrow, which is so true when walking around, all narrow alley ways with lots of traffic and whistles. They seem to have their own ways of communicating in traffic with whistles and it seems to work in this organised chaos. Wouldn't work for five minutes in any European city, my hat off for them :) Another fascinating thing I have noticed are the cable nests, see picture below. This one is not the worst I have seen, but it does show how remarkable it is! There are also daily power cuts.. The monsoon season is currently ending, and it has rained a lot. It's wet and muddy at most places and some roads are damaged. Today, when going to the school we helped painting, we drove 1.5h outside the city, past Bhaktapur. Narrow roads and women working on rice or corn field

They night before the flight out and I'm a sitting on my friend Tracy's sofa and wondering if I have forgotten anything..  Water purifier and Imodium, camera, dollars, camelbak and visa - all should be ok now! I read a book today by a travel journalist and I am just getting more intrigued and excited, Nepal seems to be a fantastic country! Hard to understand they had a war just a few years ago, people is poor but so generous. But I think you see that in all these poor countries though, the less people have the more generous. Quite fascinating.. Went through London today, I do love this place. So vibrant and people from all over. Swedes are nice, but fairly introverted people. I had a typical London-experience today at the Apple store. I was waiting for my turn to get served when a guy comes up saying "I have arrived!" Then he wanted to be friends on Facebook (?)! I kinda declined in a nice way but it was a bit random, as many of my meets are. But refreshing, I needed